FOR BETTER CROPS IN THE SOUTH 67 



has some ticks on it. Secure it with ropes so it can't struggle 

 much. Tie a heavy hemp twine around its neck tightly, so that 

 the jugular vein will become distended with blood. Force the 

 needle of a large, clean, sterile hypodermic syringe into the vein 

 and till the syringe with blood. Withdraw the needle, and 

 immediately inject about one-half drachm of the blood under 

 the skin of each calf. It is important to have enough labor at 

 hand so that you can do this rapidly and accurately. It is very 

 easy during the hurry to overlook a calf or to give one two doses 

 of blood if you have not each one haltered and tied. No sickness 

 will be noticed for about eight to ten days. About this time 

 you will find a marked fever, running from 103.5° to 106°. The 

 calves will refuse to eat, lie down most of the time, and in severe 



Tick infected steer— August 12, 1911. Weight, 730 pounds 



cases pass bloody urine and some of them may die. This fever 

 period lasts three to six days as a rule, and then passes off. The 

 important thing to do is to keep the bowels active. To do this 

 we pasture them on green stuff, and if there be some indications 

 of constipation we give a large dose of salts, say one-half to one 

 pound. About the 30th day after inoculation a second fever 

 period begins, which is very similar to the,first one. We expect 

 it and handle the calves as before. It is usually fifty to sixty 

 days before the calves are strong enough to permit the ticks to 

 attack them. During the spring months we let them mingle 

 freely with Southern cattle and ticks, but about May or June it 

 is best to keep them to themselves until October and feed them 

 once a day. We find one-half pound of cotton-seed meal per day 

 is enough for a calf weighing 500 to 800 pounds. A compilation 

 of the work done by the Southern experiment stations shows 



